Airlines might soon start charging you for overhead cabin luggage

Here's some great (read: terrible) news for the penny-pinching holiday-goers out there like me, who would rather pack minimally and decant all liquid items into sub-100ml containers than pay£40 for the privilege of putting your suitcase in the hold.

According to The Sun, airlines might soon start charging you to put your mini-suitcase in the overhead lockers of planes. And by that, I mean one airline in particular has already started doing it. Cheeky little tykes.

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United Airlines, America's third largest air travel provider, no less, has decided to introduce an extra class level into their system. And get this: it's even more basic than economy. In fact, it's called Basic Economy.

What it offers passengers is air travel with the accompaniment of only one bag which is small enough to fit under their seat. And making like Ryanair, they'll charge anyone whose luggage is too big an extra £26.

That'll be £700, please.

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Plus, Basic Economy passengers are only allocated a seat on the day of flying, which will significantly increase the likelihood of passengers travelling in groups being separated from one another.

Here's my thoughts: now, I know I'm not especially talented at travelling light (I'm just good at sitting on tiny cabin-size suitcases), but the only people I think could travel with a bag tiny enough to fit under their chair are businessmen flying there and back in one day for a meeting. And do you not think they'd feel pretty miffed to be shoved in 'Basic Economy' by their company?

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Having said that, United Airlines insist they've introduced the new fare level at their customers' request. Gotta give the people what the people want, and all that.

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"Customers have told us that they want more choice and Basic Economy delivers just that," the airline's executive vice president, Julia Haywood, said. "By offering low fares while also offering the experience of travelling on our outstanding network, with a variety of on-board amenities and great customer service, we are giving our customers an additional travel option from what United offers today."

They also think that with less faffing to put bags in overhead cabins will lessen boarding time, making the whole process smoother. Maybe, but that just depends on how much uptake they get on it.

Despite the fact I, myself am contributing to the publicising of this information by writing about it, all I can hope is that the likes of Ryanair doesn't catch wind of it and start planning to tighten its own on-board baggage rules. Holidays cost enough as it is.